Weasel
by CrimsonKing123
Summary: Simple changes...the lack of an S-rank law,the fast tracking of the Akatsuki's plans,a more dedicated Danzo. Simple consequences...earlier training of Uzumaki Naruto,the creation of an underground civilian group. Konoha, and the ninja world at large is about to be turned inside out...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything...

Prologue

A New Mission

Hiruzen was an old man,a dangerous one,but an old man nonetheless. He wasn't sure how long he had left and felt that the destiny of Konoha lied in the hands of the young. "The future" he fondly called them mentally. Of course,as the Sandaime Hokage he had an image to uphold and coming off as a loony old man wouldn't help his case he imagined.

The figure clad in black,kneeling at his feet,ANBU tattoo on his left shoulder was certainly a prodigy. Genin at 7,chūnin at 10,ANBU at 11,Uchiha Itachi was everything a ninja aspired to be and more,but what set him aside from his peers wasn't his genius (on second thought,it kinda was ) but his kindness. That was why he was entrusting him with this particular mission.

"Rise,Weasel"

"You called,Hokage-sama?"

"Yes" Hiruzen confirmed,"I have an A rank mission for you"

"You are to instruct Uzumaki Naruto on the way of the ninja until you are certain he can defend himself"

The Hokage was answered with a sharp, barely,noticeable nod.

By his stance,The Professor noticed Itachi was slightly disturbed.

He sighed,saying "If you have any compaints to voice you can say them...I am releasing you from your duties in ANBU until mission to me as any other ninja would"

"Isn't he a bit young to be trained?He's a non-clan ninja and village protocol states that-"

"I know what it states:'No non-clan ninja below chūnin rank can be entrusted with village secrets'-after all I helped write it"Hiruzen interrupted.

"Certain circumstances around Uzumaki have rendered that rule null"

"Even as a Jinchūriki I had not expected to begin his training until a recent report about Uzumaki reached my ears"

"What report?"Itachi said,forgetting to add the required honorific to Sarutobi upon completion of said sentence.

"An attack by a freelance-nin"

After the attack by the Kyuubi he had thought to create a law preventing the telling of Naruto's new status to anyone at the punishment of death if discovered doing ,he had decided to trust Konoha's citizens expecting them to be less simple-minded and petty as to condemn a child for the Kyuubi's would not make such a mistake again. A few years after the boy's birth and practically everyone in the village knew what Naruto held he had then enforced the law but the damage had already been done. A few civilians suspected Hirizen's hesitance in passing the law for weakness and a civilian had finally crossed the line a few days ago when he hired a freelance-nin to assassinate Naruto.

The captured freelance-nin had divulged that he was hired by a civilian named Ishida Kogami,a civilian whose wife had died in the Kyuubi attack. By the time they had gathered the necessary information Kogami had left the village. Thanks to superb tracking by Hound and a tracking specialised jonin squad,Ishida had been captured. He was been held in the interrogation cells but was dead now on no fault of the ninja. Naruto had not been hurt,his ANBU watchers had prevented that. On the surface,it looked like a simple attack by an angry civilian lashing out at the 'source of his troubles' but before his death (by exploding note)-Ibiki had found out(Kogami's words) that the Void was watching and that Sarutobi would pay for his sins.

Sarutobi suspected that this 'Void' were a civilian group bent on Naruto's death,but that didn't explain how they had snuck that exploding note on Kogami when a previous search had revealed nothing and this worried Hiruzen. Hence,his current actions...

"Do you accept the mission,Itachi?"

"Yes,Hokage-sama,I'll start immediately"

In an undisclosed location, a group of varying individuals both male and female,young and old sat round a them was an aged looking man,lacking a few teeth with a few gray strands in his brown hair. It was this man that spoke now,

"Kogami is dead,things are going just as planned. We will commence the next stage of the plan in a few days. Any questions?"

Murmuring started as the inhabitants of the room spoke among themselves...

Unnoticed by all,a man in an orange swirled mask lurked in the shadows, Sharingan spinning...

Watching...

 **AN:**

This is the first chapter of the first book in a four part series.

I won't reveal much but this is my take on the Naruto series if Sarutobi made a different decision in the aftermath of the Kyuubi and the Akatsuki are going to be more active than in canon,before the start of it as foreshadowed in the chapter above.

Anyways,read and review please...

-CrimsonKing123


	2. Happenings

Disclaimer:

Would I be writing this if I owned Naruto?

Happenings

Itachi looked down at the Kyuubi Jinchūriki,breaking into the boy's apartment had been rudimentary - something he had to change in the future in case of future attacks on the he had to do now was wake up the boy and begin the day's training.

Three bowls of unfinished ramen lay at different points across the room and the sink was filled to the brim with unwashed plates

It seemed weird that a five year old boy would be living alone but the boy had expressed his desire to leave the orphanage and the Hokage had not refused,providing him with a stipend and hiring a trusted caretaker for him.

"Naruto!" Itachi said in an attempt to wake up the pariah.

The boy snored on,mumbling something about ramen.

"At least it isn't hard to deduce his favourite food "

Itachi tried shaking the boy awake,his futile efforts didn't do much except to make the boy turn over.

Naruto rolled over and fell off the bed,dragging the sheets with him.

"Talk about a deep sleeper"

Of course,Itachi had various methods by which he could wake the boy but those "methods" wouldn't exactly make that good of a first impression on Naruto.

Anyone else in his situation would be a tad irritated,not Itachi any normal person wouldn't do what he was about to do either.

The Uchiha cast a subtle genjutsu on the Uzumaki,one that enhanced genjutsu or induced them.

Naruto had been having a lovely dream where he was Hokage and had made ramen the customary food for every villager.

He had been about to have a bowl of said dosh,at the Hokage's desk of course when the ramen had turned into worms resisting the movement of his oesophagus.

Naturally,Naruto screamed and soon jumped awake.

Blinking and groaning,he found himself lying on the floor,at dark haired stranger crouching near him.

Upon getting his bearings,Naruto did the first thing that got into his head-'attack the intruder.'

Naruto rushed at Itachi,throwing a telegraphed punch at the ninja. Itachi sidestepped and tripped the boy,who was moving at slow motion to his senses.

Naruto jumped and attempted to attack,emphasis on the 'attempted' Itachi grabbed his arms and held him in a lock.

"Calm down" Itachi said in his usual dull monotone.

"Why should I?"Naruto hissed.

"Who are you?"he asked.

"You can call me Itachi"

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you a ninja?"

"Are you here to kill me?" the boy rapidly said.

"I was sent here by Hokage-sama,yes I am and no."Itachi replied.

"I've been ordered to teach you"

Itachi released the boy on saying that,taking a step back from the Jinchūriki.

The boy's demeanor changed on the words 'Hokage' and 'teach',suddenly becoming very excited.

"Are you gonna teach me to be a ninja?"

"I've always wanted to be one,dattebayo!"

"Yes I am " Itachi said with a slight smile at the boy's new temperament.

"Will you start training me now?"

"Yes I will,get dressed and follow me"

The Uchiha left the room and Naruto started rummaging through his clothes. He put on a black shirt customised with an orange swirl and an orange pair of trousers.

"Take my hand" Itachi said as he left the room.

Naruto held his hand and they departed in a flurry of leaves.

Itachi Hao planned out his training schedule for Naruto from day one. The first few days involved instructing Naruto on the basis of chakra theory and introducing him to some ninja tools.

A few minutes into the lesson and Naruto had zoned out,looking like he was gonna fall asleep any minute.

The lesson started going off the rails when Naruto started asking when he would learn to run up walls and on rooftops,like he'd seen some ninja do.

Itachi had then painstakingly explained why he had to understand the basis of chakra theory before applying it.

That hadn't helped and the boy remained obstinate.

Itachi decided that maybe he would learn easier practically than theoretically.

After all he was a six-year was why he'd just started teaching Naruto how to mold chakra.

"Imagine a well of energy within you,search for it and try to pull it outwards " he instructed.

Sweat gathered at the boy's brow and visible chakra formed a human-like figure around his dorm, cloaked in a ram seal.

As expected,he had more chakra than any six year old,high chūnin at least. The files said that it was an effect the Kyuubi's chakra had on his coils coupled with his above-average chakra capacity as an Uzumaki.

"Good " he commended.

"The three broad ways in which chakra can be used are ninjutsu,taijutsu and genjutsu"

"Ninjutsu application involves the use of chakra to help humans do what they cannot normally do-the well known ones involve molding and converting of chakra into it's various elemental instance,"

Itachi performed the basic fireball juts, without seals of course,he didn't want the boy experimenting without supervision. Naruto's slacked jaw and wide eyes were the result of the fireball.

"Will I be learning that?" the boy excitedly said.

"Maybe"

"Now taijutsu involves using chakra to enhance muscle movement and strength during combat. For example,"

Itachi sprinted to a nearby tree in the training ground they were in,using chakra to boost his jump,he spun in the air and kicked the tree causing a significant dent on it's bark.

"What did you notice in that demonstration;what did I use chakra for?"

"Mmmmmmm..you used it to aid the strength of your kick?" Naruto replied.

"Yes,and I also used it to boost my jump"

"Remember the nightmare you experienced before you woke up?"

"Yeah,how do you know about that?" Naruto queried.

"Because I induced it,that's why. That is one way to use the last of the basic ninja arts-genjutsu"

"So genjutsu is making nightmares"Naruto asked,a bit confused.

"Not exactly,genjutsu is the use of chakra to break and cast illusions on other individuals.

Make no assumption,genjutsu can be used for things far more dangerous than causing nightmares."

"So you'll teach me how to make genjutsu"Naruto said.

"Not yet"

"Why?"Naruto whined.

"You have far too much chakra and too little control to put it to use - as shown by the way you created the chakra shroud"

"Fortunately,I think I have a way of helping you in that regard"

"I have two actually,listen and pick one."

"The first one is the easy method,it will limit your chakra capacity therefore making it easier to use genjutsu with the use of 'seals'"

"Unfortunately,it will prevent you from using your chakra to it's full potential and upon removal,your chakra control becomes much worse."

"The second method is the harder one,it involves learning a complex jutsu that will fast track your learning curve,helping you learn to control chakra faster,but it could take several months,or even a year with this method."

"Which will you use?"

"I'll pick-"

"Choose wisely" Itachi advised.

Naruto stopped and seemed to be thinking hard.

After a few minutes,he chose the second method.

"Why did you choose it?"

"Cus old man Hokage always said that taking the easy way out never works. So I picked it,dattebayo!"

"The name of the technique is...the Kage bushin no jutsu"

A dark haired boy,hair styled in the shape of a duck's butt clad in white shorts and a black shirt with an red and white uchiwa on it bent over near a small lake.

An older,stern faced dark haired man in standard ninja attire stood near him.

"Again!" the older man instructed.

The younger boy stood up trying to cast the fireball jutsu he'd been taught. A tiny flame retracted from his mouth extending a few feet.

"That's enough for today,you're running low on chakra. Rest we'll continue tomorrow"

The older man walked away. The boy fell to the floor panting.

"I'm still not good enough...I'm never good enough. How will I ever catch up to nii-san at this rate!I have to keep trying" he thought.

The boy got up unsteadily, running through the hand seal sequence for the jutsu...His name...Uchiha Sasuke

July 20th,NE

Things are going according to plan,Hiruzen is more paranoid than ever following the attack by my group. I estimate that this little game will be over in two years time with the Hokage as my pawn of course.

Next stage, planting seeds of the Uchiha's supposed treachery...

Let this twisted game of ours begin,Hiruzen!

AN:

Not much to say,the pace picks up in the next chapter. Changes in Suna occur next.

Read and review please...

-CrimsonKing123


	3. Weapons

Disclaimer:

I own nothing...

Weapons:

One year timeskip

The Fourth Kazekage was an efficient man,one who would do whatever it took to protect his people,his home - Suna. That was why when he saw the opportunity to properly craft a weapon for his village - in the form of his third child,he had taken it-damn the consequences. The failure that was Gaara had completely ruined that though. As tense as the relative peace was in the Elemental Countries it was no surprise that Konoha had seen fit to solidify relations with Suna - offering help in case things went south with Kumo and Iwa. It was logical that they needed a reliable ally in case that probability came to be. Even though they were one of the great villages,Suna's current state easily meant they were the weakest village - as hard as it for him to admit,Rasa had always been true to himself and he admitted Suna needed help - accepting the offer from the Leaf. With Kumo and Iwa vying for the spot of top dog in the wake of the Kyuubi attack,he had to start preparing for the inevitability of the Fourth Ninja World War. Jiraiya of the Sannin's aid in perfecting Gaara was a good step in that direction.

Meanwhile,in Konoha

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted

"Hn?" Sasuke said, a raised eyebrow the only other inflection of his interest.

"I finally learnt the Kage bunshin!" Naruto excitedly said.

In Sasuke's opinion, Naruto would have learnt everything much faster if he already had the ninja basics down first. But unluckily he didn't and his elder brother had to lead him through that in the first few things - teaching him to Genin level proficiency in a few months as was the Uchiha way.

"You jealous,Sa-su-ke?Cus you can't learn it?" mocking the raven haired boy.

"Don't be absurd,you know I don't have enough chakra for it,besides I've already learnt how to use elemental chakra,unlike you!" Sasuke said

"Hey!I'll learn it too,ya know? The Kage bunshin is still ore awesome,dattebayo!"

"Ch...just don't fall too far behind me, Naruto" Sasuke replied letting the signature Uchiha smirk grace his features. Sasuke was still young and was still inexperienced with the Uchiha baiting weapon as seen by the unfamiliarity with which he used it.

"Like if,I'm already far ahead of you"

Playful banter was common between the two since becoming fast friends a while after their first meeting.

Sasuke had been curious at first as to why Naruto was being taught by Itachi and had his curiosity barely satisfied two months ago when Naruto had finally told him about the attack on his life roughly a year ago. Before that, Sasuke had just been told by Itachi that it was a mission and he couldn't say more as it was classified. Sasuke don't know why anyone would want to kill his now best friend - an identity muck-up had been his first guess since subsequent attacks were not forthcoming. But that didn't explain why Itachi,a jonin had been ordered to teach him. No mere civilian would be placed as such a high priority for that much effort,but Naruto had. He was the village's Jinchūriki after all,as the Uchiha heir he had already been privy to the information provided by his father before the eldest Sarutobi enacted his law.

Things hadn't always been rosy between them,after all-their first meeting resulted in a hostile conversation that had quickly dissolved into a fist fight. Sasuke, having been trained for far longer than Naruto obviously came off looking better after the scuffle but had learnt not to understimate the Uzumaki after his sheer tenacity had enabled him to get a few shots in at Sasuke. They had been separated by a returning Itachi before things could get more dangerous though. Sasuke still blushed at the thought of how thoughtless he had been-accusing Naruto of stealing his brother away from him.

Currently the two walked through Konoha, Naruto dressed in black shirt with an orange hoodie over it on top of black cargo pants. Sasuke wore a black shirt and short with the red and white uchiwa at it's back. Wierdly,people have them a wide berth answering greetings from the Uchiha heir and passing their eyes over Naruto like the latter boy didn't exist. Sasuke had since gotten used to behaviour like this towards Naruto and believed it was the same reason everyone seemed to hate Naruto because of his status as Jinchūriki.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said, a little tense.

"What is it?" Sasuke said

"Someone's following us" Naruto said,seemingly even more tense.

"Where?" Sasuke said letting his eyes casually gaze through the crowd as they stopped at a stall. He had learnt to trust Naruto's sensor ability especially with his being trained by Itachi to utilise the common Uzumaki trait.

"3 o'clock" Naruto replied,his furrowed brow the only true tell of his discomfort at their present situation.

Sasuke located the man and the boy's continued moving,subtly using one of their pre-planned tactics for dealing with individual stalkers,they separated seemingly saying their goodbyes and walked in opposite directions.

Sasuke immediately noticed that the man - as good as he was (Sasuke was finding it hard to keep track of him in the crowd even after already locating him.) had continued following Naruto and the Uchiha followed the man as Naruto walked into an alley.

Naruto turned,calling out to the man who had vanished into the rooftops upon Naruto's turn into the alley. If his abilities were right,as they always were the man was at a rooftop adjacent him. Naruto stared at the spot the man was after he did not reveal himself. The man,knowing the jig was up dropped the cloaking jutsu he was using.

He jumped down in front of Naruto whose back was to the wall. Sasuke chose that moment to walk in,dramatically of course,having chosen the best time to intervene.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked,knowing the answer already as he drew a kunai from his holster.

"The blond brat's head" the man said seemingly at ease despite the situation.

"You must be really dumb,look around you." Sasuke mocked."You're in a shinobi village,a passing shinobi or any ANBU patrol is going to stop you at any moment" he added.

"That's were you're wrong,my partner placed a sealing barrier around this area. It seals us off as well as keeps most people from looking this way by subtly playing with their chakra. My partner is superior to me,I pity the blond brat's ANBU watchers. I don't think they'll survive him. Nevertheless, you should be more worried about yourselves,ne? "

Suddenly,a metaphorical crushing weight fixed itself on the boys as the Suna - headband wearing man focused his killing intent on them.

Sasuke had been about to reply,to try and buy the boys some time when it had happened. Never being exposed to such a feeling,the boys froze, Naruto more noticeably as he had a panicked expression on his face. The assassin dashed forwards, a katana in hand. Sasuke managed to will himself to move,pushing Naruto out of the way of the lunge. The man twisted his sword, driving it's hilt onto Sasuke's head seemingly knocking him out.

"No pay,no kill" the man said justifying his actions to himself.

The assassin darted forward again with incredible speed,he slashed at Naruto,who desperately leapt back to avoid being bisected. He couldn't avoid an injury however, a three-inch shallow cut appeared across his chest,spilling blood and he fell to one knee.

"Wind coated blade,it's really something,eh?" the assassin said,giggling.

It was weird how much time the assassin was giving him to recover. Naruto knew the man could have ended this at the beginning but hadn't. Naruto barely made it up to his feet struggling to throw a few kunai at the man that were easily dodged and deflected.

"I don't wanna die" he thought desperately as he created ten clones that ran to the man. The man recognising them as shadow clones by the seal,whistled patronizingly and dispatched them quickly.

The assassin went in for the killing stroke and a kunai suddenly blocked it, the kunai held firm resisting the assassin's attack even as his savior's whole body shook.

Sasuke smiled,jumping back and threw a kunai wrapped with a primed exploding tag. The assailant easily batted it aside as Sasuke used the Grand Fireball jutsu,the man seemed to be caught in the flames but upon dying down, a charred trash can was revealed. Sasuke was properly knocked out this time with a swift kick and the assailant slashed at Naruto, the blade seemed to be frozen as Naruto screamed mentally.

"Please,someone,help!" he thought.

"I suppose I should prevent my container ' death" a chilling,loud voice resounded in his mind.

Naruto thought to himself that it was the cruelest, most vile sound he had ever heard.

"Of course it is" the voice scoffed.

"Remember,Naruto,you owe me,the day will come when I will be recompensed."the voice ended as things returned to normal again.

Naruto had not connected the voice to the Kyuubi in his current state.

Suddenly Naruto's whiskers elongated becoming darker,deeper and basically more feral,his fingernails grew a little and he grew a little more beast-like in every way including his actions. This was made clear as he dropped to all fours and in a burst of speed leapt under the slash the assailant sent his way. Naruto slashed at the man who barely managed to leap aside. Naruto snarled and got under the man's guard,slashing the man twice across the chest.

"What are you?" the man said,shocked at his wounds.

Suddenly a figure leapt down and knocked out the Jinchūriki following up with a kunai-butt to the head of the assassin, knocking the man out of commission.

"What a mess " Itachi noted,making two Kage bushins,one to take the man to T&I and the other to take Sasuke to the hospital as Naruto's wounds had already closed up.

Itachi himself then jumped to the rooftops,heading to the Hokage's tower to inform him of the incident.

No one noticed the man in the orange mask nearby...watching...

The masked man muttered to himself for a few moments before saying-"Your move,Sarutobi"

A few hours later,

Naruto and Itachi sat atop the Hokage monument looking up at the stars. Naruto had been cleared of any injuries and Sasuke had a mild concussion.

"The way I attacked that man,I-I wasn't in control. I'm a monster like they say,aren't I?"

"You're not a monster,Naruto " Itachi sighed.

"Have I ever told you what a ninja is?"Itachi asked.

"Only a few hundred times " Naruto said,managing to joke even as distraught as he was.

"A ninja is a knife in the dark,a blade to cut down his village's enemies,a shield to protect it"

"What you did,was what anyone else would do. You fought,to protect yourself to live another day. You are no monster, Naruto. Anyone who says you are is no better than trash" Itachi said,mentally thanking Kakashi for his frequent melodrama-ness in ANBU.

"Now I know you might not be so keen to protect most people in this village,but fight for those you really care about. Fight for their home,never lose sight of what you fight for,Naruto!"

"Naruto?"Itachi said to the boy who had gradually become to come out of his funk.

"Be a weapon for your precious people"

After a few minutes of silence,as Naruto perused over what he had just heard and learnt. The boy replied in the affirmative,firm in his conviction.

Back in Suna,

Jiraiya of the Sannin had produced two bonded seals for Rasa. His disgust at what they did,didn't prevent him from making them - his loyalty to Konoha too strong. Another seal the Kazekage linking the first seal to it - which was located on the boy's back. Another,over the boy's seal strengthening Chiyo's work. The latter also had the function of cutting of the boy's connection to the Bijuu's chakra immediately - it's counterpart would be given to every jonin - after receiving the copy of the seal from Jiraiya - it would be child's play for Chiyo . The first, the Kazekage was very interested in,as it would cause immense pain in Gaara through chakra manipulation by a single handseal.

"I will mould Gaara into a perfect weapon"

Somewhere in the holding cells in Konoha's T&I,

The Hokage walked towards the cells,contemplating the recent attack on Naruto's life. Some oddities had been revealed in the captured ninjas' actions and Hiruzen was determined to get to the bottom of it. Interrogation had not yet begun as something important had come up that could not be told immediately to the village's leader.

As he stepped into the cell,ANBU guards following. A man stepped forward,one Yamanaka Inoichi.

"Here it is,Hokage-sama"

The man turned one of the prisoners around - who was acting strangely docile.

Hiruzen froze...spinning Sharingan eyes spun back at him from the man's eyes.

A/N:

For those who don't get it - Tobi used an illusion on the assailants to frame the Uchiha.

Not much to say - next update is on the 1st of next year.

Read and review please...

-CrimsonKing123


	4. Re-scheduling and Re-enactment

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything.

Really I don't...

Except this fic:D

Re-scheduling and Re-enactment:

Uchiha Sasuke was in a terrible mood. The outcome of the altercation two days ago hadn't exactly been in his favor. Sure,Naruto had survived but he had still been completely outclassed by the assassin. Worst of all,he had just heard from the horse's mouth that his best friend had had the assassin on the ropes before Itachi's intervention. Sure,Naruto was a Jinchūriki but he was an Uchiha,dammit.

Sasuke reclined in the hospital bed bemoaning the fact that he was stuck in this white-covered hell while Naruto and Itachi further surpassed him. If he had it his way,he would have been out of here the same day as the forementioned incident but Itachi had prevented that because the medical personnel needed to assess him properly to prevent further compilations. No decent ninja enjoyed being stuck in a hospital and Sasuke was no exception.

His thoughts shifted to despair as he kept reminiscing...

"How am I ever going to catch up to Itachi at this rate?"

After a few moments of deep thought,the peculiar Uchiha smirk crossed his features...

"What better way to prove myself than to defeat Naruto in a spar...?"

In a hidden Akatsuki base,

A spiky haired,orange - haired man in a black cloak spotted with red clouds walked in a dark carvern. What stood out most about the man wasn't the black piercings on his face but his purple eyes with concentric rings. Logically,this indicated a dojutsu...not just any one at that,the more enlightened would recognising this as the Rinnegan. Walking adjacent to him,was a blue haired woman with a lip piercing wearing the same cloak...this indicated some sort of uniform.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu" the man said,voice resonating with power.

A tall twisted looking husk appeared from the chakra - created smoke...the two inhabitants of the room jumped on top of the husk's fingers. Suddenly,'something' dug it'd way out of the ground,Venus - fly trap like covering around it's head,divided into black and white sporting a frown and a twisted grin respectively. The two partner's nonchalance at his entrance and the cloak he was wearing marked him as another member.

Faded projection - like figures appeared on some other fingers wearing the now expected cloak. A tall man wearing a half mask with a piercing green gaze,a hunched over,unnatural looking figure,a long black-haired,pale man sporting a creepy looking smile.

"Kakuzu,Sasori as is normal,this monthly meeting will begin with a rundown of our current finances and changes in the state of our targets."said the orange haired man to the green-eyed man and the hunched figure.

"Changes have been made to the Ichibi's Jinchūriki's seal in a bid to make him stronger. Though it will only be a minor inconvenience come collection" said Sasori.

" The Kyuubi's Jinchūriki is undergoing training from one 'Uchiha Itachi' "

"At our present rate barring any sudden changes we would have gathered adequate funds to begin Akatsuki's operation in about six years."said Kakuzu,the organization's accountant.

Throughout the proceedings,the pale man had been steadily looking more and more bored.

"Orochimaru" said the orange haired man.

"Yes,Leader-kun"said the pale man fixing his yellow-eyed,snake - like gaze on the latter man,managing to make 'Leader ' sound creepy. Suspiciously,Orochimaru looked hungry,why and for what could not be easily discerned,though the object of his hunger seemed to be the Leader of the Akatsuki.

"I have a mission for you,a very,rich client by name of 'Gato' wants a fellow competitor dead,you will be meeting up with him in Hi no Kuni,specifically it's capital...I hope your status a missing-nin from the country's hidden village won't affect your performance?"

"Of course not" Orochimaru replied,mildly affronted.

"Alright then"

The Leader of Akatsuki jumped down from his place on the husk's hands,closely followed by Konan. The plant-man hybrid retreated into the earth and the figures flickered away...

Night-time in Konohagakure,

Uchiha Hikaru was an average Uchiha ninja,not "Average" like the clan wanted it's foes to believe - where average was above most other ninja's skill level but a perfectly average Konoha ninja- chūnin rank,border patrol,nothing outstanding nin. The only thing remotely outstanding about Hikaru was his stealth skills - which had almost got him a place in Konoha's ANBU if not for his pitiful combat ability. Unfortunately or fortunately,depending on the way you look at it this was why the masked man had come to him. Easy to manipulate, replaceable,just useful enough for his mission - yes,he fit the bill perfectly. The masked man had introduced himself as Madara a few months ago during a mission and after an amazing show of force,Hikari had been forced to agree with that identity. The man had said he would be in touch and had provided Hikaru with a mission that would force the Uchiha to respect him and the village as a whole(right after the Uchiha had taken over it of course) and with the overwhelming force Madara possessed Hikaru had seen nothing suspicious about the mission. After all Madara would protect him if things went awry...he really should have looked 'underneath' the 'underneath'...

The forementioned ninja now found himself attempting to steal the Forbidden Scroll,entry had been easy,especially after a distraction from Madara and the Hokage was not in. Using the sample of blood given to him by Madara,where the man had found a sample of Hiruzen's blood to open the safe he really didn't want to know. Grabbing the Scroll of Seals from the open safe Hikaru turned,only to find himself staring at an ANBU mask. The ANBU attacked,throwing shiruken that Hikaru barely dodged-which was a miracle in itself considering his abysmal skills coupled with the hampering the Forbidden Scroll provided. Hikaru used the Scroll to block the next wave of shuriken as the ANBU drew close to finish him off. He hadn't managed to block all the weapons and the shallow cuts across his body gave evidence to that. His grimace turned into a smirk as Madara appeared,a spinning vortex indicating his entry. Madara cut off the ANBU's attack killing the woman with a kunai stab to the abdomen...Hikaru wondered why the masked man had not injured the ANBU in a way that promised instant death but shrugged,maybe Madara was just a sadist. As Hikaru made to move, Madara threw a single kunai from the ANBU's holster,right in the dead ANBU's former line of sight at Hikaru. Hikaru never noticed this,after all dead men don't notice much.

Morning of the next day,

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not in the best of moods,first of all he had been been woken up in the early hours of this morning,and by that he meant 1...and then he had found out that the Uchiha had made an attempt to steal the Forbidden Scroll - probably in an attempt to increase their brethren's combat ability for the upcoming coup. Tensions had been high and now Fugaku just had to cross the line with this...this was basically treason.

There was no proof of the rest of the clan's involvement but he knew better. The Uchiha had stopped going on missions outside the village,preferring to perform their duties as Konoha's Military Police,it was obvious mobilization and in another situation Hiruzen would have found it funny that Fugaku had thought he would get one over the present God of Shinobi.

That was why he had summoned Fugaku to the Hokage Tower by 9. Not too early that Fugaku would misplace it for panic and not too late that he would take it for the opposite.

Fugaku arrived in the Tower,calm and collected despite the circumstances surrounding his clan and the rest of the village - most importantly the Hokage.

"Fugaku,do you know why I've summoned you today" Sarutobi said,maintaining his outwardly grandfather appearance.

"No" Fugaku said,feigning ignorance - at least to the Hokage's ears.

"An Uchiha shinobi was found trying to steal a very important scroll of this village,would you happen to know any thing about that?" the Hokage said,keeping up the sickly sweet tone he was using.

"Of course not,the actions of a lone Uchiha do not represent the actions of the whole clan" Fugaku rebuffed,maintaining his own calm facade.

"I hope this doesn't stress things between the Uchiha and other ninja...You can go " Hiruzen said.

Fugaku stiffly bowed,walking out with a cold rage around him.

"One last thing,it will be very bad for the Uchiha if something like this ever happens again" said the Hokage.

The Uchiha clan head paused as he was about to grasp the door handle,frozen in shock at the blatant threat before firming his resolve and walking out the room.

That same day,

Uchiha Sasuke grinned as he walked happily through the streets following his brother to the usual training ground(set aside by the Hokage)where the latter boy and Naruto met to train. He had just been released from hell on earth and was looking forward to the spar with Naruto. The object of the Uchiha's thoughts was already on the field when the Uchiha brothers arrived.

Before the day's training could begin, Sasuke openly challenged Naruto - he was counting on Naruto's natural competitiveness to convince Itachi to let him spar. Itachi disagreed as expected, after all Sasuke had just been released from the hospital. But after a few minutes of pestering from both boys he finally agreed. Presently,the two faced off waiting for Itachi's signal to begin.

The Uchiha gave the signal and the two boys blurred into motion, Naruto darting back while throwing multiple shuriken and Sasuke rushing forward,eager to prove his superiority. Sasuke dodged some,before letting a kunai slip into his hand,deflecting the rest. Naruto threw three kunai that Sasuke deflected and jumped over. Sasuke lunged at Naruto with the kunai,who drew his own kunai and blocked Sasuke's attack. Sasuke leapt back,hands blurring through handseals before using a fire jutsu. This resulted in a charred log that Naruto had replaced himself with. Sasuke suddenly found himself on the defending end of the spectrum for the first time in the spar. Sasuke dodged the fists and kicks sent his way from the five shadow clones stabbing one,punching another and using a fire jutsu on the rest. Unfortunately, this allowed Naruto to place his first genjutsu on Sasuke. Sasuke did not know he was in one as he ran at Naruto, kunai in hand. His attack met nothing but air as the genjutsu "Demonic Illusion:False Surroundings Technique" took effect. Naruto who was farther than Sasuke had presumed, took advantage punching Sasuke in the gut and kicking the arm with the weapon to disarm him. A few punches later and the disoriented Sasuke was down. Itachi stopped the spar declaring Naruto the winner.

Naruto offered Sasuke his hand but the Uchiha slapped it away and walked off.

"How am I ever going to be the ninja tou-san wants me to be?"he thought while skulking off.

"Naruto is strong...and the Bijuu in him makes him even stronger...what holds back the Bijuu,but a seal...just maybe..."

The night of the same day,

Tensions were high in the Leaf village,what with Fugaku stepping up his plans for the coup. This was counter-acted by the fact that the Hokage had just given him,Uchiha Shisui an S-rank mission to stop the coup from ever beginning. The use of his Kotoamatsukami would suffice,of course.

He was running atop the rooftops headed straight for the Uchiha compound when he sensed an attack and managed to dodge,flickering away with his signature Shunshin which he had trained to incredible levels coupled with the Sharingan giving him an advantage in coping with such high speed movement had given him the name "Shunshin no Shisui"

As he stopped on a rooftop adjacent the one he had been running on,he faced a dark-haired man wearing a spiraled - orange mask.

"Who are you?" Shisui asked.

The man refused to reply,leaping off the rooftop and slashing at Shisui who dodged and kicked at the man who blocked. Shisui flickered away and sent a fireball his opponent's way which would also serve to alert any approaching ANBU to the scene.

Shisui swore he saw red in the assailant's eyes.

"An Uchiha" he thought,"how did Fugaku know-" he was forced to stop his train of thought as the man attacked. Shisui flickered away before appearing behind the man and stabbing with his kunai at the man's back. He slipped through him,managing to twist and land on his back for further defense. Unfortunately,coupled with the shock at what he knew was not an illusion he couldn't move in time to evade his opponent - who seemed to be moving faster now that he had suckered Shisui in. His Sharingan eyes only helped him watch as the man drove his kunai into his chest. The man grabbed Shisui and a moment later they vanished through a distortion in space. By the time the ANBU team arrived on the scene there was nothing to be found.

The two appeared in an alternate - like dimension,faded blue with lowered and raised platforms.

"Where are..?"Shisui started

"I need something from you" the masked man interjected reaching out for one of Shisui's eyes. Shisui tried weakly batting the man's hand away but a kunai stab to the shoulder later and he couldn't move the offending arm. His Sharingan captured in excruciating detail as the man's hand drew closer to his eyeball before reaching out and...

Shisui screamed

That same night,

Uchiha Itachi had been about to pass by a certain river when he spotted a limp body nearby. He nearly choked as he found Shisui lying still with kunais stuck in his shoulder and chest. He felt for a pulse and found a weak one,as if the action woke him Shisui's eyes opened,face twisted into a grimace of pain. Shisui tried talking and found that he couldn't,Itachi finally noticed that his best friend's throat had been slit in such a way as to prevent speech and a quick death.

Itachi finally showed an outward sign of emotion,tear silently dripped down the face of the twelve year old ninja.

Shisui still struggled to speak before sighing finally...

"Please don't..." Itachi sobbed

His eyes glazed over and his body went completely still.

That night something changed in Itachi and it may not have been exactly for the better...

In his strange dimension,the masked man used an aspect of his dojutsu he had discovered a few months ago. A portal in the dimension linked to a portal in the real world which was blanketed by a strong illusion and suddenly Madara could look into the scene currently happening. He take at the show of emotion from Itachi,he had decided not to kill Shisui because the boy,Itachi who he had offered aid in completing his S-rank mission if the Danzo and/or Hiruzen veted it needed a Mangekyou Sharingan. That was wrong,no...he,Madara wanted Itachi to gave one...after all he could already see that Itachi would be a vital piece in his little game.

A week later,

Things were coming to a head,Fugaku had fully mobilized his forces and was prepared to launch his coup any moment and as such he and Danzo had seen fit to stop it...at all costs.

Hiruzen gazed down at the young boy,and sighed...

"So much weight upon such a young one's shoulders. Something about him seems different but I can't place my finger on it." he thought.

"Jonin Itachi,I and the Hokage have reached an agreement after contemplating your information provided this past week" Danzo started,seeing as Hiruzen wasn't eager to.

During the tense moments that followed,Hiruzen wondered what was going through the young man's head.

A cold resignation at the mission he knew he would have to perform or a desperate hope that somehow he wouldn't have to?

"It doesn't matter" Hiruzen thought as he prepared to condemn a clan.

"You will massacre the Uchiha clan barring Sasuke who you have begged not to suffer the same completion will guarantee a full S-rank mission pay,mission failure will result in death but if escape is achieved you will be granted asylum by I"

"Yes...Hokage-sama" Itachi bowed,regret filling his voice as he steeled himself to destroy his clan.

That night,

Itachi dressed in his ANBU uniform and Weasel mask fell upon the Uchiha like a bat out of hell. He ripped through them with his tanto,using Tsukiyomi to kill those who proved too troublesome.

But even that paled before the masked man who was his uneasy comrade. The man who claimed to be Madara picked through the Uchiha with ease, sending shrunken flying out of portals on his body,his speed was beyond anything Itachi had ever seen barring Maito Gai of course. He didn't even get a single scratch, as all attacks - elemental or otherwise slipped through him and the Uchiha's weak (in comparison) genjutsu did not affect him.

He had asked Madara for the 'honor' of slaying his parents. After all they deserved to meet their end by their kin at least...

Uchiha Sasuke walked home,he had been out training - trying desperately to close the perceived gap between he and Naruto. He noticed something was wrong as he walked into the Uchiha compound. The glaring silence was hard to ignore after all. He ran through the streets,horror growing at the pile of bodies. Once he thought he saw a glimpse of orange but that was pushed to the back of his mind as he ran to his parent's house. Thoughts in a flurry,he opened the door to his parent's room to find them dead and his brother standing aside - a tear down his cheek.

"Itachi,what happened?Where's the-" Sasuke stopped as he realised who had done the unthinkable - the amount of blood staining his outfit was rather obvious.

"Foolish little brother,I killed them all"

"What?Why?" Sasuke said,anger slipping into his voice.

"To test my limits,obviously this was within my capabilities." Itachi coldly said in a monotone Sasuke had never heard,gesturing around proudly.

"No!No!No!"Sasuke said,trying to deny his eyes,what his brain confirmed,as his heart said otherwise.

Sasuke screamed,rushing forward,abandoning all traces of ninja training. Itachi sidestepped him,grabbing his shirt and slamming him into a wall. Mangekyou met black orbs...The scene of Itachi murdering his clan and finally his parents played out...

"71 hours,59 minutes and 59 seconds to go."

"Scream,little brother" Itachi said cruelly.

A second later,

An outside observer would see Sasuke crumple to the floor broken as Itachi walked out seconds later.

"You're weak,little brother. Remember that burning hate in you,grow it,harness it...and when you have eyes like mine...come"

Sasuke would always remember those words...

In the Sarutobi household,

The ANBU guards around the residence were proven useless as a vortex appeared in Hiruzen's bedroom. The man was not termed the 'God of Shinobi' for no reason,proven as he immediately woke up,grasping a kunai underneath his pillow and launching himself at the intruder. The masked man dodged,not using his 'abilities' yet,he allowed Hiruzen to overpower him. The Professor held his kunai to Madara's neck,and the fallen man capitalise on Hiruzen's one mistake.

"Game,Match,Set" he thought as Hiruzen fell victim of the Kotoamatsukami from his newly acquired eye.

Konoha's fate just took a turn for the worse...

A/N:

Got this out as a New Year's present. Took me the whole day too,so you damn well appreciate it;)

One more chapter,the epilogue and we can get started on the much longer second fic.

Oh yeah,Obito's abilities - I figured they needed some shaking up;so new abilities and new limits/weaknesses.

The next fic is one of the only fics (only fic?) to have a bad Hiruzen/good Danzo combination.

Happy New Year!

Read and review please...

-CrimsonKing123


	5. Epilogue (Part One)

Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto...sigh

Epilogue(Part One):

The Way:

It took a month...a whole month for Uchiha Sasuke to be found relatively cleared from the mental trauma suffered from 'that man'.

Those months were mostly spent plotting revenge in between the psych evaluations by a Yamanaka psychologist. Visits by Naruto kept the raven-haired boy from breaking down. Eventually,his train of thought returned to the method he thought then could help him catch up to Itachi. Now,it would help him murder the bastard-by 'it' the boy meant seals;special kanji written with chakra infused ink.

Something so simple on the surface,yet complex - something that could hold the strongest bijuu.

The next few months,the raven-haired boy used for training,sparring occasionally with Naruto and going through library books and scrolls for fuinjutsu knowledge. Unfortunately though somewhat expected,the library contained sparse fuinjutsu knowledge apart from basic fuinjutsu. After going through all the library had accessible to academy students,Sasuke hit the metaphorical brick wall and couldn't progress further.

Even the clan's scrolls on the subject hadn't helped him much. Well,they did provide him with a theory for ninjutsu - absorbing seals but without knowledge on storage seal formation it was practically useless.

On Naruto's part,days were spent trying to cheer up the Uchiha,he hadn't been able to reach him until he offered to help him take down Itachi. Sasuke had been interested in the offer and had accepted it as long as he was allowed to strike the death blow.

While wondering how he was ever going to become strong enough to face Itachi he discovered via the Konoha library that every Konoha S-rank ninja gained their status through bloodlines or some other sort of force multiplier. Learning thar the Summoning jutsu seemed to be the only one available to him. Fuinjutsu was too - as the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage had proven but the less alike he and Sasuke's skill sets were the less likely Itachi would be able to stop them.

Months spent trying to find out the hand signs for the jutsu were wasted. Shinobi he managed to spy using it were just too fast for him to note the hand seals. Without a higher ninja status in the village it was nigh impossible to access actual technique scrolls. Konoha hadn't realised yet but Naruto existed to defy the impossible.

He had proposed the idea to Sasuke who had agreed as he had gotten frustrated with his learning efforts a while ago.

Kira and Kotetsu,two chūnin guards working the nighttime shift for the guarding of the upper echelons of the library. They hadn't expected any action that night after all the mission was only a C-rank in name. That is until the smoke bomb came rolling in. Caught off guard,the two shinobi fumbled for their weapons,soon realising that the smoke was not poisonous. Seeing two short figures in the dark they attempted to identify them...only to fall victim to a sleeping genjutsu.

"Romani Genjutsu:Nise suimin"

(Demonic Illusion:False Sleep)

"Success" said Naruto.

It was the only of the two genjutsu Itachi taught him that was not for direct combat.

"I presume they won't remember the last few minutes?" Sasuke asked

"Of course,I got this genjutsu down perfectly ages ago..." Naruto said,still wearing a slasher - like smile.

Sasuke zoned the other boy out as he searched through the fuinjutsu scrolls.

Grabbing one of the many on advanced seal theory,he also picked a few others and turned to leave the room.

Naruto grabbed one on Summoning and a genjutsu scroll. He was a bit surprised to find Sasuke done already but shrugged and left the room

"Things are looking up again..."

Years flew by as the two boys attempted jutsu found in their stolen scrolls with little success. Naruto had attempted the jutsu first thing but had not succeeded. He perused through the Scroll before learning that he needed even better chakra control before attempting the jutsu. He had also been surprised to find out that trying the jutsu without a contract summoned you to the realm of the animals most fitting to you. On further contemplating,he realised it kind of made sense. Switching to learning two genjutsu from the other scrolls found success. He also realised that creating new genjutsu was limited to one's hand seal knowledge and imagination. With this knowledge creating his first genjutsu was easy - well as easy as something that took a year was. Further reading through the Scroll revealed the risks of attempting the jutsu. The creatures may not be completely receptive or accepting of the user. He set aside another two years to train further before using the Kuchiyose no jutsu.

Sasuke's growth had also slightly increased - he soon learnt the storage and exploding seals. Three years passed,spent trying and failing at replicating seals before creating his own seal was remotely possible. As the ninjutsu absorbing seal was simply a much,much,much refined version of the storage seal. Though still ridiculously complex,the matrices of the seals were similar and as such it was easier than creating a new seal from scratch.

A year later,when Sasuke turned eleven - he attempted using the seal. It failed - well it wasn't a complete failure as it could store ninjutsu...but upon release the jutsu was rendered completely useless appearing as normal chakra. A few tweaks and a couple of months later and the seal was complete. His elation could not be quantified as the seemingly small step brought him just that much closer to beating Itachi.

"This may just be the ultimate equalizer..."

Present day,two years till graduation:

"October 1st,nine days till my birth day."

A psychic would hear if spying on the blond haired boy's thoughts. The tenth wasn't exactly a happy day in Konoha and if he had it his way,he wouldn't be here when said date came about. The Uzumaki was standing in one of Konoha's training grounds - one of the few with dense foliage.

The boy's thoughts shifted to the summoning technique as his hands blurred through the seals for the jutsu.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu" he screamed as his hand came down, a sealing matrix spread before the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto appeared in a savannah-like environment,light seemed brightest at the centre and light emanated outwards,slowly becoming dimmer. Naruto wasn't thinking about that,as he was falling through the air,about to eat some ground at terminal velocity.

Thinking fast,Naruto twisted in the air while placing his hands in an unfamiliar sign;

"Kage bunshin no jutsu"

A long chain of Naruto appeared,swinging the lead and original Naruto around before throwing him into a nearby lake.

Naruto fell into the lake,using chakra to slow his speed before boosting himself - jumping out of the body of water. He swimmer across the lake,reaching dry ground while fasting for breath.

A few minutes passed before Naruto attempted to stand,looking up he saw a green fox staring at him with a curious expression. Making eye contact with the creature,Naruto noted that the color was from it's fur and not chanelled chakra like he had first thought.

"What are you?" the creature asked.

The creatures maw didn't move but the words seemed to resound in Naruto's head.

"I should be asking you that...besides isn't it common courtesy to tell who or what you are before asking someone?" Naruto replied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" the fox replied,implying that culture was a little different here in this part of the summoning realms.

"I'm a human being" Naruto said.

"What's that?I've never heard of that..." the curious fox said."Are you a summoning creature?" it added.

"No,I'm not...can you just take me to whoever's the boss around here?"

"You mean the Great blue fox?" it asked,cocking it's head inquisitively.

"Yeah..."Naruto said."Whoever that is..."he muttered under his breath.

The pair walked through the grass,steadily progressing towards the light. As they neared the centre(which took a couple of hours at civilian speed),Naruto realised the light was coming from a blue fox. It was kinda hard to miss,after all it was hundreds of feet tall,it's four tails swung around it,glowing and creating chakra hands to support him when moving. After all it had to be hard for a giant behemoth like that to resist gravity. Naruto reached the centre,which was a lake surrounded by weird glowing grasses. The blue fox was standing on the lake(water-walking)-surrounded by different foxes;

Red foxes with two tails,orange foxes with three and the occasional green cub.

The fox noticed their approach and spoke into Naruto's mind requesting who he was.

The blond gave his name,attracting the attention of the chakra animals around him.

"It has been long since we have had a summoner - most of this generation don't even know what humans are." the fox said,spreading it's thoughts to the other foxes. The diverse foxes,growled in the affirmative in Naruto's and the great fox's mind.

"Tell me,why do you think you're deserving of our contract." the fox said.

"..." Naruto stunned at the question,could not reply. What truly did summoning animals gain from the contract? Why would they accept to be at his beck and call?

"Very well,it seems you don't know. I will not place you at fault. After all,you are but a cub, prove yourself by defeating one of ours and you will be allowed to join the newest litter" the fox said.

"Does that-" Naruto started

He was interrupted as the fox sated his question by affirming that he would be granted the contract upon winning.

The blue fox shrunk,it's for my changing to an average fox,but it's light still remaining as strong paradoxically.

A white fox drew itself away from what seemed to be it's mom (mom?) and paced towards him. Naruto noticed it was the only one of its color.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked the seemingly shy fox with a smile. On fit her introspection,it seemed female.

"Arubino" the fox(vixen) said,with a small smile.

"Mine's Naruto" the boy said.

"Begin" the blue fox abruptly said.

"What,what...he hasn't given the rules for the fight. Is it to the death,what if it's to the death!?-" his thoughts were interrupted as the pale fox sprung at him,retracting it's claws. It swiped severally at him as Naruto dodged with deceptive ease. Twisting around,it dodged Naruto's return strike before throwing what seemed to be mud at Naruto's eyes. In surprise at the attack,Naruto barely dodged-some mud still stuck on one eye. The white fox took advantage of the self-created blind spot,slashing at Naruto's arm and drawing blood.

The blond boy flipped backwards,tearing a sleeve from his shirt and tying it around the wound. Keeping his 'good eye' on the vixen,he wiped most of the mud out of the other eye.

"That was kinda dirty..." Naruto said

"There was never any rules" the vixen replied,grinning fiercely. Or was that a snarl?

Regardless,Naruto was shocked at the attitude change but drew a kunai and rushed the vixen. He almost got a face full of fire as the vixen threw flame created by her tail. He dodge reflexively mentally thanking Sasuke for all his spars before throwing the kunai,the fox swiped it away with its tail.

Naruto used the opportunity to cast a subtle genjutsu on the attacking fox.

"False Surroundings Technique" he thought expecting the fox to swipe at air. The fox ignored the illusion capitalising on Naruto's shock and swiping at him it slashed his shirt to ribbons. It's mesh undershirt just protecting Naruto,Naruto threw the vixen away and ducked out of range as it fired one of its claws at him.

"What the hell!" he thought.

"Hanyou-as you humans would call us are masters of disguise and illusions. It should not be surprising that genjutsu does not affect her. A more potent one probably would but you don't have any,do you?" the fox said in his mind.

"The boy gritted his teeth,sending dozens of kunai and shuriken at the fox who dodged easily. It's size serving it well,Naruto made a three shadow clones who jumped,mobbing and dragging the elusive fox down.

"It slashed at them,dispelling one before Naruto leaped landing in front of it and holding his kunai at her throat.

She froze,eyes widening as she looked up at him with a fear - filled expression.

The boss fox called the match,smiling subtly at the outcome.

"Congratulations" it said,it's tails making a few hand seals before a scroll appeared surrounded by chakra smoke that quickly dispelled.

The silver fox slunk away,retreating to it's parent. Naruto smiled at it and the fox cautiously smiled back.

Naruto hesitated before grabbing the Scroll, asking the fox for permission with action. The boss nodded and Naruto opened the Scroll barely containing his excitement. A signature later and Naruto was the second ever and new summoner of the fox hanyous.

A/N:

Sooooooooo...not the last chapter. Just decided to split the epilogue into two parts with the second focusing on Sasuke,Gaara and Danzo (finally!)

Read and Review please...

-CrimsonKing123


	6. Epilogue (Part Two)

Disclaimer:

Sigh...we all know I don't own Naruto.

Epilogue(Part Two):

Finale:

Sasuke stared back at his opponent who glanced away. His civilian opponent - normally the cocksure taunter couldn't bring himself to speak as he prepared to fight the Uchiha. The Uchiha zoned out as their ever-dramatic sense shouted out the rules. Sasuke was dressed in a sleeveless blue shirt with am uchiwa at its back with black shorts that stopped just before the knee. The seals written on white bandages wrapped around his arms from the shoulder to the palm added to his mystique. On the other hand the nondescript civilian standing opposite him with a loose stance that screamed 'opening' looked like he didn't want to be in the ring with the Uchiha. The last loyal Uchiha smirked,it was nice to have his opponents scared of him for once. The civilian rushed forwards screaming and Sasuke blinked realising that the match had started. He dodged the wild punch sent his way,countering with a strike to the elbow. His opponent's fist crashed into his own face and Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura who had been cheering on the Uchiha started jeering his opponent. Rushing forwards,Sasuke punched his opponent in the gut before roundhouse - kicking him off the platform. The civilian landed hard outside and Sasuke smirked leaving the ring confident in his abilities.

"Now if only Naruto would return from whatever dimension he was in and the day would be perfect."

Sasuke had been covering the Jinchūriki's as s since he left two days ago and the instructors were becoming more and more suspicious of their little ruse.

Sasuke had been eager,waiting for his best friend return so that he could finally test his seals in combat.

Sasuke sighed,

"You couldn't always get what you want" he thought as he slipped away from his stalkers/fangirls,Ino and Sakura.

Arriving at his and Naruto's apartment just outside the Uchiha clan compound. He tensed,recognising an intruder and prepared his chakra - he walked forward...only to get glomped by an orange and black blur. He found himself staring at blond hair,before realising his assailant.

"Get off" he said,pushing the blond off him.

Hiding his smile,he pretended to be irritated as Naruto expressed his joy at being back. Before the boy could start gushing...Sasuke interrupted him.

"A spar...now...training ground 6"

He dashed off,closely followed by Naruto. Sasuke blinked in surprise as he watched Naruto shooting ahead but looked back and saw three clones grinning back at him. Sasuke nodded in realisation,Naruto wasn't gonna win this race-the Uchiha forced more chakra to his legs before rocketing off.

The impromptu race ended when Naruto landed in the training ground first,Sasuke arrived a second later - a light frown on his face.

"Still as creative as ever with your clones I see." Sasuke said.

"It was only two days,why would I stop being creative" Naruto asked perplexed.

"Because...a lot can change in two days." Sasuke replied,a goading expression slipping onto his features.

At some unseen signal,the boys sprung at each other clashing fists and legs in a tantalizing display of taijutsu. Sasuke suddenly pulled at his chakra and the slight change was the only warning Naruto had before fire lashed out at him from Sasuke's palm. Naruto barely dodged,the passing heat making him wince,before he swiped downwards and knocked Sasuke off his feet. The Uchiha landed on his hands and handspringed backwards,shooting out fire from his fist to warn off any incoming attack by Naruto. Naruto hadn't moved,trying to analyse the new development in Sasuke's skill set.

"So,that's what you meant. It worked after all." Naruto said,grinning though still adopting a cautious approach to the fight.

Sasuke stayed silent,a smirk Naruto's only answer.

"Well,I haven't been complacent either" Naruto roared,fumbling through the handseals for his newest jutsu.

Sasuke stayed still,not rushing in to capitalise as he wanted to see Naruto's summon in action.

A puff of smoke later and Sasuke was rewarded with a silver-colored fox with glaring red eyes. Those eyes were fixed on Naruto now however.

"I know,Arubino" Naruto said,giving the summon creature it's name."Sorry,for calling you out so soon."

"It's just for a spar" he reassured the creature after it stayed silent.

Sasuke chose that moment to rush forward,throwing multiple shuriken at his two targets. The fox lazily hit them aside and Naruto dodged backwards letting his summon take point.

The creature lashed out at Sasuke with miniature fire balls from it's tail and Sasuke lowered his hands absorbing the fireballs via seal. The fox's eyes widened in surprise before Sasuke heel - kicked it while intercepting a kunai strike from Naruto. With the fox down,Sasuke lashed out with the newly gained fire at Naruto. The blond dashed backwards and Sasuke held a kunai to the creature's throat. It sent an indignated expression at Naruto before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The two boys readied themselves for another round...they ran forward screaming...

In Sunakagure,

He really misses Mother,he had noticed her departure shortly afterwards 'that' happened to him. He had realised that he couldn't hear her ever present voice anymore. He would have noticed it immediately but he was in too much pain from the Kazekage's use of his seal on him. Abrupt cutting of a Bijū's chakra tended to do that to people. People no longer look at him in fear,but do so with contempt and openly expressed hate. The fear was much better to him,worst of all he cannot do anything about it. The first and only time he struck down a civilian in rage,he had been held down by jonin who had applied the 'pain' seal on him. Led to the Kazekage,he was cut off to Mother's chakra for the whole day. Nowadays he only heard her voice when allowed to draw up on her chakra in excess. As this happened in long intervals,it was like she wasn't there at all.

The training had started immediately after the sealing,the Kazekage passing on his Futon jutsu knowledge to his son. A year after and he was being sent out on missions for the village. Clients had been fairly disappointed until the raw power the boy had was displayed.

Missions soon started flying in for Suna.

The Kazekage was a happy man.

Gaara only knew the pain.

Somewhere in an underground ROOT base,

The only good thing about the change in Hiruzen was that the manipulator hadn't discovered ROOT'S existence. That seemed to be a major flaw and Danzo was pretty sure of it. After all if whoever it was knew of their existence he would immediately call for it's destruction. After all the controller had been slowly undermining Konoha for the past few years.

What better way to undermine Konoha than to destroy it's black-ops?

Danzo had realised that the changes in Hiruzen could not be attributed to an impersonator,no impersonator could fake Hiruzen so well. The controller had apparently understimated Danzo - there were after all some things that Danzo knew Hiruzen would never do and vise - versa.

Danzo concluded that a genjutsu was at fault here,a strong one at that,if his subtle attempts to dispel it had turned out the way they had. Danzo had already started drawing out his ROOT agents from ANBU and subtly placing them in the jonin and chūnin ranks. The rest dissolving into the civilian populace.

Regardless,Danzo did not know the perpetrator's endgame...but when it came to be...ROOT would be there to stop it.

Back at the training ground,

The two exhausted boys barely stood,still attempting to slug it out. Sasuke had since exhausted his stored fire releases and Naruto had spent tons of chakra trying to keep up with the rapid-fire attacks. The slighly-singed looking boy stared into the onyx eyes of his bruised and swelling faced counterpart.

Both boys fell simultaneously panting for breath,sweat matting their brows.

"Tie?" Naruto asked.

"Deal." Sasuke replied

"Itachi's never gonna know what hit him" Naruto said.

"Hn" Sasuke replied,smug smirk slipping into his current expression.

The two boys helped each other to their feet,laughing lightly. They walked off,supporting and helping each other make the motions - beginning a new chapter in both of their lives

A/N:

That's it!

Check out my one-shot giving some detail to Naruto's summons,which should be out in a couple of hours. It's titled Arubino BTW.

Read and review please

-CrimsonKing123.


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